Stouts Fire Reaches 8500 Acres, Evacuations Orders Continue

“It’s just tough keeping up with it. It’s so dry out here”, said Dave Wells, a spokesman for the fire team from the Oregon Department of Forestry and the state fire marshal.

Firefighters continued to deal with extreme weather conditions on the Stouts Fire Saturday as high temperatures, low humidity, and low fuel moisture combined for a hard day, officials said. Residents’ work on reducing fuels around numerous structures over the last couple of years was evident and will hopefully give them the upper edge if the fire moves through the area.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office issued a Level 3 evacuation for residents in the Azalea area and a Level 2 evacuation for residents near Galesville.

The crisis shelter established by the American Red Cross is relocating from the elementary school to the Canyonville YMCA located at 330 Sabbath Way, Canyonville.

Gov. Kate Brown has invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act so resources from around the state can be used to protect homes. Fire managers will provide information and answer questions.

What is happening on the Cable Crossing Fire and what do these evacuation orders mean?

The Stouts Creek Fire began Thursday in the unincorporated community of Milo, which is east of Canyonville. The wildland firefighters will continue working to contain the fire and to prevent it from spreading to the nearby neighborhoods.

“The evacuations around Milo have been reduced from a Level 3 to a Level 2”. Level 3 (Go) evacuations were in place for residents in the Azalea area from Upper Cow Creek to Snow Creek East, but fire officials announced Sunday afternoon that the evacuation level was dropped to 2 for these areas.

More than 1,200 firefighters are working on the Cable Crossing Fire, and the causes of both southwest Oregon fires are under investigation. Forest roads remain closed in and around the fire area.